Los Angeles: Hollywood once dismissed them. Now it’s casting them, courting them and counting on them to deliver audiences. The creator economy — projected to hit $310 billion this year, up 23% from 2025 — has totally reshaped entertainment, with influencers transitioning from outside disrupters to part of the industry itself.
For The Hollywood Reporter’s third annual Creators A-List, the publication culled a hyper-specific guide to the influencers who matter most to Hollywood — the comedians, sketch writers and actors booking roles and selling scripts, as well as the TikTokers and YouTubers studios consider their press tour secret weapons.
Here are the 25 names on the list:
Alix Earle
Earle turned her TikTok “Get Ready With Me” fame and Hot Mess podcast into reality TV success, competing on Dancing With the Stars season 34 (earning second place) and launching Earle Meets World on Netflix, which slid into the streamer’s top 10 during its first week.
Amelia Dimoldenberg
After more than a decade, Dimoldenberg is winding down her Chicken Shop Date series — but she’ll star in and produce a romantic comedy at Amazon MGM Studios’ Orion Pictures, playing a journalist who finds love during a celebrity interview.
Benito Skinner
Creator and star of Prime Video’s Overcompensating, based on his own life as a closeted college student, Skinner is the north star for creators hoping to break into Hollywood. Season two is expected soon, with Kyle MacLachlan and Connie Britton set to return.
Brittany Broski
Broski’s YouTube chat show Royal Court continues to reign supreme, drawing Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Nicole Kidman, Sandra Bullock, Keke Palmer and Bob Odenkirk — all willing to trade dignity for medieval costumery and a guaranteed-friendly interview.
Bri Morales
Morales launched Bri So for Real on Instagram and TikTok, an interview series where guests share their personal lore. She gained fame hosting NowThis Media’s Are You Okay? and played herself on FX’s Adults.
Charli D’Amelio
The reigning queen of TikTok, with 160 million-plus followers (the second most on the platform), D’Amelio remains the bright and shiny face of social media — though THR’s profile explores the pressure of performing joy for the algorithm.
Colin & Samir
Colin Rosenblum and Samir Chaudry built a following and lucrative business catering to other creators, hosting a sold-out summit on the Fox lot. They’re now setting up their own EP business, with projects in development at Lionsgate and A24.
Dhar Mann
Owner of Dhar Mann Studios, Mann makes inspirational scripted and unscripted videos for 170 million followers globally. Thanks to a new content deal, he’ll produce 20 episodes of his signature shortforms exclusively for Disney.
Gabby Windey
Best known for The Bachelor, The Bachelorette and The Traitors, Windey is turning to the big screen — appearing in A24’s Peaked and playing a coach in Netflix’s The Body, bowing November 11.
Grace Reiter
Reiter built a rabid following on TikTok and YouTube and as part of the American High sketch troupe, cut her TV teeth on The Chair Company, and is set to take up the sketch show’s resident weirdo position.
Jack Coyne
Coyne’s Track Star — a name-that-tune quiz meets interview format — has become a must-stop on global press tours for actors like Maya Rudolph and Andrew Garfield.
Jake Shane
The TikToker and podcaster made his Broadway debut in All Out, did a guest role on Adults season two, and is developing a half-hour comedy series with Hulu.
Jana Craig
Craig pivoted Love Island USA season six notoriety into internet stardom and brand collabs (Truly, Maybelline, Venmo). Now she has a cameo in All for Love and a lead role in a vertical series from Issa Rae’s production company.
Jordyn Woods
Woods became a star this year thanks to her courtside appearances and her husband Karl-Anthony Towns’ historic Knicks run — her lucky orange bag now sits in a glass case at the Guggenheim Museum.
Julian Shapiro-Barnum
Host of Recess Therapy, Shapiro-Barnum has evolved the heartwarming web series into a sought-after press stop, with guests including Olivia Rodrigo and Matt Damon, and launched Outside Tonight, the first digital late night show, with YouTube.
Kareem Rahma
Rahma’s Subway Takes earned an Emmy nomination this year, but his superpower is longform programming — Keep the Meter Running, mini-docs following taxi drivers to their favourite places in New York, Cairo and Damascus.
Mina Le
Le became known for thoughtful commentary on movies and TV, and is now Hollywood’s right-hand woman for marketing campaigns, with paid partnerships ranging from Apple TV and HBO to Netflix, Mubi and YouTube’s Oscars programming.
Noah Beck
Once a member of Sway House, Beck now stars in McG’s Baywatch reboot in January alongside Stephen Amell, Brooks Nader and Shay Mitchell, and just wrapped Danny Ramirez’s directorial debut, Baton.
Quenlin Blackwell
Blackwell amassed more than 16 million followers across TikTok and Instagram, and now hones in on YouTube with Feeding Starving Celebrities, featuring Meg Stalter, Tyriq Withers and Charli XCX.
Reece Feldman
Starting as a PA on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Feldman became Hollywood’s chosen creator under his Guy With a Movie Camera guise — Christopher Nolan personally invited him to The Odyssey set, and he’s this season’s Oscars ambassador for the Academy.
Sean Evans
With Chicken Shop Date ending, Evans will have the last poultry-themed interview show standing — expanding Hot Ones with Hot Ones Versus and Hot Ones Wing Pong, and staging the series in movies like Happy Gilmore 2 and Verity.
Tiff Baira
The self-coined Cupid of New York hosts viral dating-centric series Take Me Out and StreetHearts, luring guests like Belmont Cameli, Snoop Dogg and Jennifer Lopez.
Veronika Slowikowska
Entering her sophomore season of Saturday Night Live, Slowikowska is carving a niche in lovable cringe comedy — cast thanks to her TikTok sketches — while continuing to create with boyfriend and collaborator Kyle Chase.
Ziwe
Three years after her Showtime talk show was cancelled, Ziwe relaunched on YouTube as You’d Be an Iconic Guest, grilling Kevin Hart, Law Roach and Hasan Piker in segments that go consistently viral.
